The invention relates generally to beds and liners for pickup trucks, cargo vehicles and the like and more particularly to a bed or liner having improved electrical charge dissipating characteristics.
Liners for motor vehicles, particularly bed liners for pickup trucks and cargo vans provide many benefits. First of all, such bed liners provide a resilient barrier between the cargo area and the actual truck bed which absorbs energy and reduces denting and damage to the bed when heavy loads are transported. Second of all, such liners protect the vehicle bed or interior from water, salt and other possibly more corrosive materials which may be carried in the vehicle.
The emphasis on passenger car weight reduction has created a similar emphasis on behalf of manufacturers of light and medium duty trucks. One of the areas that has become a focus of such weight reduction is the vehicle box or bed. Replacing the metal box or bed with a non-metal, e.g., thermoplastic material, bed provides obvious and relatively significant weight reduction and other advantages. Resistance to rusting or corrosion and denting are but two of the accompanying advantages.
A drawback that accompanies relatively large components made from thermoplastic or other organic materials is their ability to become electrically charged and their inability to quickly dissipate such charges. This electrical activity is viewed as undesirable and products which do not exhibit this activity would therefore be desirable. The present invention is directed to such a product.